Efficacy of Eszopiclone Plus Acupuncture Therapy by Dispersing the Stagnated Liver-Qi and Regulating the Spirit for Treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome–Related Sleep Disorders

Background: To analyze the overall response of eszopiclone plus acupuncture therapy by dispersing the stagnated liver-qi and regulating the spirit (the acupuncture therapy) for treating chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)–related sleep disorders.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 107 patients with CFS-induced sleep disorders treated at the Hainan Provincial People's Hospital from February 2021 to February 2023. Among these, 50 patients who received eszopiclone tablets were collected as the control group. The remaining 57 patients who received the acupuncture therapy in addition to the treatment in the control group were collected as the observation group. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was adopted for evaluating sleep quality before and after treatment in both groups. Clinical overall response rate was compared between the 2 groups. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was conducted for measuring fasting serum levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) prior to and post treatment. Adverse reactions in both groups were also recorded.

Results: The observation group got significantly lower PSQI scores than the control group (P < .05). The overall response rate of the observation group seemed to be higher than that of the control group (P=.063). The observation group showed significantly higher post-treatment 5-HT and BDNF levels than the control group (both P < .05). Safety profiles favored the observation group, with fewer adverse reactions reported (7.02% vs 22.00%) (P=.026).

Conclusion: Eszopiclone plus the acupuncture therapy enhances the efficacy of treating CFS-induced sleep disorders, effectively improves serum 5-HT and BDNF levels in patients, and reduces adverse reactions.

Cite this article as: Huang B, Geng Y, Liu L. Efficacy of eszopiclone plus acupuncture therapy by dispersing the stagnated liver-qi and regulating the spirit for treating chronic fatigue syndrome–related sleep disorders. Psychiatry Clin Psychopharmacol. Published online October 10, 2025. doi:10.5152/pcp.2025.251106.